


Promise of the Day

by kayura_sanada



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Anniversary, Family Bonding, Fluff, Heart-to-Heart, Hints of Aqua/Kairi, M/M, Shopping, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 11:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17580098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayura_sanada/pseuds/kayura_sanada
Summary: Terra wants to do something special for Ven, but Aqua has plans of her own. And, perhaps, so does Ven.





	Promise of the Day

**Author's Note:**

> Tomorrow's the big release date, so here's something to tide us all over!

Aqua. Would not. Stop. Giggling.

Staring suspiciously at her only made her giggle harder, with a big, cheeky grin. Because she knew she was driving him mad, and she apparently thought it hilarious. Ignoring her didn’t work; she would merely pause in the middle of the market she’d dragged him to, take a single look at him, and burst into giggles again. He’d stopped in front of a sunglasses hut, only to find his hair perfectly fine, if growing too long, long enough that he might start remembering too much if he let it grow any longer. His face hadn’t been painted by Vanitas in the past twenty-four hours. His clothes were on correctly, not backwards or inside-out. So what? _What was making her laugh so much?_

Aqua caught him checking himself in the glass panes as they passed yet another store in this world and giggled _again._ “Come on,” she said. They’d ridden their gliders to arrive at this world, only to wander aimlessly for over two hours as Aqua window-shopped as if her life depended on it. Now she tugged on his wrist, looking for a moment like a child yanking on their parent’s hand. “Let’s check out this one!” He sighed and followed where she led, taking a more leisurely pace than she.

He didn’t see a difference between this shop and the dozens of others Aqua had skipped over. Still, he let her lead him through the entrance and toward the women’s clothing section, suffered through not just her intermittent giggles, but the giggles of random patrons, and just sighed at the way his day was going. He’d wanted to go see Ven. This was the anniversary of the night Terra had confessed his feelings for Ven. He’d wanted to take Ven somewhere nice. At this rate, he would be eating dinner with Ven at approximately midnight.

Not like he’d planned it out or anything. He hadn’t even told Ven; he’d wanted to surprise him. He tapped his foot. If Aqua’s shopping took too long, he would just have to make his excuses and leave.

He caught an elderly woman pushing a cart past where he and Aqua stood. The woman looked at the two of them, covered her mouth, and chuckled. Terra’s brows furrowed. He caught the woman looking back and forth between him and Aqua a moment longer before she finally went on her way. It dawned on him. “They think we’re together.”

Aqua didn’t even look up from the rack she was sifting through. “But we know better, so who cares?” She plucked something out and turned around, holding it up to her shoulders. “What do you think of this?”

He studied it. Long sleeves, tight. They would inhibit movement. Lots of frills, at least three layers of skirt. Long. More inhibition. “Uh. It’s very red.”

Aqua rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Terra.” He shrugged helplessly as she returned it to the rack. Another person giggled. He looked around, trying to find the culprit, and instead finally noticed where they were in the clothing department. This was not the only rack with dresses. They were, in fact, surrounded by them. A sign to their left declared this area the ‘Formal Fashionwear’ department. He took another look at Aqua. Recognizing he was useless here, he wandered. Several dresses were rather simple – a solid color, a straight line, a long slip of fabric beneath previously molded chest lines. He stopped at one very bright rack that caught his eye. Slowly, he reached out and tested the texture of the dresses.

Aqua had nearly yanked him out of bed that morning, somehow beating even his early exercise regimen. She’d said something about him ‘helping her with an emergency.’ By the time he’d realized her otherworldly emergency was simply a shopping excursion, he’d already worked himself into a near frenzy. His reaction thus far, however, might have been too lackluster. He’d thought she was taking him out to gear herself up for The Talk, the one where she warned him that they both might love Ven, but she would scratch his eyes out if he failed him. Or something; Riku had warned him that he’d gotten The Talk from Kairi.

But perhaps this was a different kind of emergency? An emotional one? Not one about trying to scare him straight, but perhaps one about a problem Aqua was having trouble dealing with? Or perhaps she just wanted a moment of peace to calm her thoughts, and shopping helped do so? He could understand that. He had thoughts that haunted him sometimes, too.

He wondered why she’d chosen him. If she’d grabbed Ven, he would certainly know what was wrong and what to do. Ven always understood these things better than him. Like when Ven had recognized Aqua’s feelings for Cinderella before Terra had. Ven had been the one to pull her aside and stay with her after they’d reunited with Cinderella and found she’d become happily married to the prince. What was Terra going to do? He was still confused over the outing. He had no idea what was going on.

He stopped randomly flipping through the rack and tilted his head. Well, even if he didn’t understand, he could still support Aqua to the best of his ability. “Hey, Aqua?” He picked out the thing and held it up. Aqua turned. “Is this anything like what you’re looking for?”

Aqua gasped. He frowned. The thing was light blue and frilly, not unlike the one she’d held up. It had, however, sheer, short sleeves and only two skirts, both of which were short enough to not inhibit her movement too greatly. “Terra!” she gasped, and grabbed the dress. “It’s perfect! It has pink, too! Her favorite color!” She held it in front of her and twirled.

He wondered who ‘she’ was; Cinderella was quite married, after all. Aqua held up the skirt and swished it around for a bit. The skirt had only fallen to his thighs, but on Aqua, it fell to just above her knees. The light blue dress did indeed have pink lines in it, along with orange and a yellow so light it looked almost white. The whitish color shone a bit as Aqua moved it. “I have to try it on,” Aqua said. “Let’s go!”

He got dragged again. An older patron giggled. He very distinctly heard another make an ‘aww’ noise.

The instant Aqua was safely ensconced in the dressing room, Terra pulled out his communicator, thankful once again that Yen Sid had not been willing to let them go without communications after everything that Xehanort had done whenever anyone was separated from the team. He punched in a few numbers and waited, only to receive a busy signal. He put the thing down. Ven was talking with someone on his communicator? Was there an actual emergency? He waited a few minutes, then tried again. This time, Ven answered.

“Terra!”

“Is there an emergency? I tried calling you, but you were on the line with someone.”

“No, no! If it was something bad, I would have connected you.” Terra grunted, remembering that ability. “It was just someone asking how things were going. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Shopping with Aqua? Do you know if something’s wrong?”

There was an odd beat of silence. “What makes you say that?”

“Because she called this an emergency, but all we’re doing is shopping for dresses.” He frowned. The lady behind the dressing room counter acted very busy. “And she said she likes someone who likes pink?”

Another short pause. “Yeah?”

He didn’t sound surprised. Terra sighed. “I have no idea who it is.”

Ven laughed. The sound was a bit tinny; Yen Sid’s communicators worked great, but they could never properly copy the sound of Ven’s mirth. “Really?”

Terra scowled.

“All right, all right.” Ven still laughed, though he tried to get it under control. Despite himself, he smiled. Even poorly replicated, the sound of Ven happy relaxed something inside of him. “I’ll tell you, but not now. I don’t want you bothering Aqua about it yet, and I know you will if you hear. You won’t be able to help it.”

Terra considered that for a moment. So it was someone he knew, then. Someone he knew, but didn’t expect. “All right. And you’re sure nothing’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing other than the usual,” Aqua said, stepping out of the dressing room in the outfit. She gave him a little twirl. “What do you think?”

“Um, Ven, I think I’m in trouble.” He heard Ven laughing again. Wonderful. Apparently he was just the funniest thing today. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Love you,” Ven said, his voice quiet. Suddenly, all of Terra’s instincts came to alert. He stared at his communicator.

“Love you, too,” he said, and listened as Ven signed off.

“Well? Terra?”

It flared a bit at the end, just enough to give that illusion of thigh. It also flounced, thanks to the second, less frilly skirt underneath. The sleeves were certainly tight, but they ended just at the edges of her shoulders. She still had plenty of room to maneuver, just as he’s suspected. The chest only hinted at Aqua’s cleavage, giving her plenty of room to breathe. “Looks good,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Do I look pretty?” she asked.

He looked again. The blue was a bit lighter than her hair, but balanced that out with the highlights in its fabric, making it seem like it was connecting her hair and skin colors. It enhanced the pink of her skin and, in being a light fabric, allowed her hair and eyes to shine. The glimmering yellow-white helped that along, too.

The lines of color fell in diagonals, allowing her to look even slimmer and giving her legs a lengthened appearance. She twirled again, and this time he caught the dip in the back, showing off the blades of her shoulders. When she stilled in front of him again, he smiled. “You look even more radiant than usual.”

The woman at the counter did not soften her ‘aww’ noise _at all._

Aqua beamed up at him. “Perfect! Then I’ll change out and grab some accessories.” She ran back inside, only to scurry back out. “And _you_ buy something, too, while we’re out.”

She hurried back in. He scowled. Him? Buy something? Here? “Why?”

“Because you don’t have anything fancy, and you should!”

That hardly seemed like a good reason for him to spend anything on such a frivolous purchase. He didn’t have to impress the person he loved. Ven had, somehow, miraculously, fallen in love with him just as he was. “So?”

“Just imagine Ven’s face when he sees you in a tux!”

Terra opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. Ven had nearly dropped his jaw to the floor just seeing Terra in one of Riku’s outfits once. How _would_ he look if he saw Terra in formalwear?

He sighed. Even from the dressing room, he could hear Aqua giggling again.

In happier news, the woman at the counter looked confused, and was no longer making cooing noises at him.

Aqua dragged him up and down that first store, then into a second one when she said the men’s clothing “fit him weird.” How wonderful. She dragged him to two other stores, picking up paraphernalia for herself along the way, then finally found a store that, as she put it, “has clothes for men with actual muscles.” She made him try on countless articles of clothing.

Time ticked past lunchtime and into the afternoon before she was content with what he was wearing. “We’ll buy this one!” Aqua decided. Honestly, at this point, he couldn’t say what the difference was in terms of style. It fit tight around his arms and waist, cinched a bit in the back, only to flare the tiniest bit at his hips. The pants were streamlined, nothing like the flare of his usual hakama, leaving him feeling uncomfortably tight around the crotch. Still, he had to admit that Aqua was onto something; even though the clothing was horrendous for battle or training, it did seem to make his muscles seem sleek and his body well-shaped. He turned a bit to study how his shoulders dipped into a sort of point at his waist. All right, yes. Ven would _love_ this. And it would be perfect for the dinner that night.

He smiled at Aqua. “All right. You win.”

She snorted out another giggle. Great. He’d fallen for her trap.

She talked him into wearing it out of the store by doing nothing more than looking at the progress of the sun in the sky. If he wanted to make it back in time to take Ven to dinner, then they would have to leave _now_.

“One second,” Aqua said as they walked down the sidewalk, searching for a place to secretly get on their gliders. When Terra frowned at her, she pointed to a restroom. “I just have to go to the bathroom. Wait for me?”

And he did, because he was an idiot who waited for a woman when she asked him to. He fiddled with his communicator. He hadn’t been able to speak with Ven since that phone call. Aqua had kept him busy, and to be honest, he’d been afraid that Ven might ask him what he was doing and he would blurt out the truth, ruining the surprise. Yet now he wondered if they’d taken too long. Did Ven remember what today was? Did he have something planned? Maybe he’d waited too late, and Ven thought _he’d_ forgotten?

He tapped his foot as the seconds ticked past. Aqua only took a few minutes, but they felt like an eternity. He opened his mouth the moment he saw her, ready to insist they go home, only for Aqua to grab his wrist. “Let’s go see a movie!” she said. His jaw dropped. “We’ve been out walking all day, so let’s do something fun!”

“Aqua, I can’t.” This time when she tried to drag him off, he dug in his heels. Aqua turned wide eyes to him. “It’s… today’s a big day. For myself and Ven, I mean.” He shifted a bit from foot to foot. They never really spoke about his relationship with Ven. He certainly didn’t talk about their dates or anything, let alone any important days they might have. He didn’t know why. Aqua may have been quiet about it at first, but she’d eventually shown support. So why did saying this make him want to clam up?

Aqua looked away. “A big day? How so?”

He cleared his throat. Why was this so hard? “I… after everything. After… I saw Ven with, um…” Best not to talk about how many years he’d lost, how he’d felt the press of them all around him. Best also not to mention how afraid he’d been, as the vestiges of Xehanort’s attacks had left him shivering still, as if the man might pop out one last time and take his loved ones from him, after all, and their hard won victory would become the worst sort of loss. Best not to mention how everything he’d felt had reached a boiling point the instant he saw Ven talking with that red-haired boy, one who had taken a liking to Ven a little _too_ quickly. And, if he was going to skip all that, then he should also skip how he’d lain awake those few nights afterward, thinking of all the reasons why he shouldn’t. Or how, every morning, he’d faced every reason why he _should_. Until, finally, he had. “I told him. How I felt. Two years ago today.”

She didn’t meet his gaze. Her hand, however, trembled as she held him. She looked down. “Ah. I. Don’t mean to take you away from that.” She didn’t let go. “But. Can we go somewhere, anyway? Even though…”

He stepped closer. Just one step, and she looked up at him. “Aqua.” He covered her hand. Her lips parted. “Just tell me what’s wrong? You know I’ll do anything I can to help you.”

She pressed her lips together and looked away again. Compared to this, he wouldn’t mind the giggles again. “It’s noth – well. Just? Can we go somewhere?”

He looked around. There were still plenty of people milling about. A few passed the two of them. He caught them watching as if Aqua’s troubles were a spectator sport. “Is there a park or something nearby?”

Aqua leaped on his words. “Yes! Definitely!”

This time, he let her drag him away. He looked down at his tuxedo and took a deep breath. Ven would understand.

* * *

They didn’t do anything at the park. When they arrived, Aqua took him straight to a park bench and continued to remain silent until Terra felt ready to lose his mind. Time ticked past. The sun crept toward the horizon. His day with Ven was almost lost.

“Aqua.” He leaned forward. Aqua had done little more than fidget for the past couple of hours. He’d been extraordinarily patient. But now, watching the day slip into evening, watching the sky turn orange, he wondered just what he was doing. He loved Aqua. If she needed him, he would always be there for her. Always. But he loved Ven, too. And today, he’d planned on proving it.

Aqua looked over at him. There was a distinctly guilty look on her face. It was the only thing that kept him from losing his temper. “I know. I’m sorry,” she said. As if she’d been _waiting_ for him to call her out on her procrastination.

He turned more toward her. Many people were walking the path in the park. A few jogged. Most children, while they’d been happy to play just a half an hour earlier, seemed to have gone home. An elderly couple walked past the park bench where they sat, looked at him and Aqua, and giggled. He sighed. “Just tell me.”

She kicked at the ground, picking up dirt. Thankfully, she was downwind of him, and the tuxedo he’d bought wasn’t ruined before Ven had the chance to see it. “I can’t.” She looked over at him. “Not that I don’t trust you! Just.” She stood. The movement was sudden; the dress she’d worn out of the store flashed bright in the waning sunlight. “Shall we get ready to go home? It’s almost too late for you to be with Ven.”

He frowned. She’d waited so long in this place, only to call it all off? She’d taken him shopping all day, tried to keep him with her, just to hand him off at the end? He reached out and touched her upper arm. “Aqua, I’m not trying to get away from you. I’m right here.” Those eyes widened again. “I love Ven.” This, at least, he could say without a problem. It was a fundamental truth of his universe, after all. “He’s my light. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, too.” He cleared his throat. “Not like that. But I do. Just differently.”

She giggled. “I understand what you mean,” she said, saving him from sticking his foot any further into his mouth. He stopped talking. “I know you do. And I’m not trying to be weird, I promise. I don’t have anything really bad going on. I just need you to trust me.”

He thought for a moment. “That dress. You seemed to be wanting to impress somebody.” Her face froze on a half-smile. “Is this about them?”

She shrugged. Shook her head. Looked away again. “A little, maybe,” she said, so softly he could hardly hear it. “There is someone I like. I shouldn’t. She was very young when I first met her. A child. It’s weird to think of her as an adult now, but she is. Seventeen.” She cleared her throat and shrugged again. “I guess, with everything we’ve lost, I should be happy I have this chance, shouldn’t I?” She stepped away from him, until she was out of range of his hand. “I like her. I _really_ like her. But she was a kid!”

He had no idea what Aqua was talking about. He scratched his head. “I know I’m not the brightest when it comes to these things. Ven’s much better. But, I mean. Whether you knew her as a child or not, she’s not one anymore, right? It’s not like you thought of her this way when she was a kid, right?”

Aqua glared at him. Her cheeks were flushed. “Of course not!”

“And it’s not like you care for her simply because she’s older, right?”

Aqua opened her mouth, ready to protest yet again, when she paused. She seemed to be understanding where he was going. “No?”

He dared sit back down on the bench. After several moments, Aqua did the same. “I had the same concerns, back when I first realized my feelings for Ven.” Aqua inhaled slowly. Her eyes widened. Her brows furrowed. That was right. He had no doubt she’d carried similar concerns about his intentions. “Ven was young still, and I had grown even older, thanks to _him_.” Aqua’s lips pressed together at the mention of Xehanort. “More, I’d known Ven back when he’d still been broken by _his_ machinations. I knew Ven when he was as innocent as a child. How could I think of him that way?”

Aqua leaned forward and placed her hands on his leg. “What… did you do?”

“I hated myself,” he admitted, looking down at his lap. “I hated myself, berated myself, second-guessed the idea that I ever could have conquered the darkness when I was thinking things like _that_. Wanting to hold Ven.” He hesitated. “Kiss him.” He blushed. “How could I? What was wrong with me?”

Her fingers tightened on his lap. They wrinkled the tux.

“I’d cared for Ven as a friend and a brother back then, though. I’d never thought of kissing him back when he was in such a vulnerable state. I’d started wanting more before Xehanort had ever returned, but it had never been a physical thing. I just cared about him _more_ than I did anyone else.” Aqua nodded. “I don’t think love is so easily categorized as what we’ve been made to believe. It changes, and adapts, and just… exists, like its own entity. When I’d seen how mature and strong Ven had become, it had changed into a more physical thing. But before that? No. And even after that – if I could be with Ven in every way but that, I would have been fine. He means more to me than a kiss.”

Aqua looked down at her hands on his. “But the things we’ve been through. I still feel like, even after everything Ven and K – and the one I love – have been through, they’re still more innocent than us.”

“Isn’t that fine, though?” He smiled at her when she looked back up at him. “I’ve always considered Ven my light. Whether it’s because he’s innocent or because he’s generous and earnest and kind – does it matter? I want him happy. I could carry all the darkness in the world if it meant he was safe and smiling. I don’t mind that.” He wrapped his fingers around Aqua’s and lifted her hand. “And Ven loves me for who I am, even with all of my darkness. He calls me his dark star. I may carry darkness, but to him, I still shine bright light. Who says the person you love doesn’t see you the same way?”

Aqua looked at their hands, held between them, then at the fading sun. “The person I love…” she murmured, still carefully not naming her. Feeling, perhaps, the same shame he’d carried for so long. “She shines so bright, it’s blinding. I can feel the darkness in me so strongly when I’m around her.”

“I felt the same way around Ven. Always,” he said. He looked to the sky, too. The sun was half-hidden behind the park’s trees. Soon, it would be night. He might not even have time to fix Ven dinner, at this rate. Maybe he could pick something up on the way home? “But we are not defined by our darkness. Our hearts are more complicated than that. And just because we’re different – darker – doesn’t mean we aren’t kind, amazing people who deserve to be loved.”

Aqua smiled. This time when she looked at him, her eyes were a bit clearer. “You’ve become wise, Terra. Like the master.”

The reminder of Master Eraqus stung a bit, as always. But the pain was starting to feel more like healing. “Ven’s the one who taught me that. Because that’s how he’s always seen me.”

Aqua was quiet. The soft pads of a jogger’s footsteps crunched beneath the sounds of crickets rising from their sleep. The wind chilled as the sun dipped ever lower. He hadn’t realized it, but there had been a stiffness to Aqua’s shoulders that finally seemed to lift. She leaned against his shoulder. The elderly couple, making one last lap, chuckled again as they passed. He ignored them.

“I wanted her to see me,” Aqua said, her voice soft. “That’s why, when I thought of what we could do today, my mind went to shopping. I wanted to make her look at me as more than just an old Keyblade Master. I don’t even know if she likes girls,” she said with a chuckle. “But that hasn’t stopped me from hoping.”

He leaned his head on hers. After a moment, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, too. “I understand that fear.” The idea of losing the relationship he’d already had with Ven had been one of the top reasons why he shouldn’t confess his feelings. “Take as much time as you need. And who knows. Maybe that dress will spark something, after all?”

Aqua chuckled. “Maybe.”

They were silent for a bit longer. Aqua’s communicator went off. She jumped where she sat, bumping her head into his chin. Terra yelped and pulled away. “Sorry!” Aqua said, and jumped to her feet. She didn’t answer the communicator. “Come on! Let’s go home.”

He looked at the communicator as it beeped once more, then fell silent. Whoever Aqua liked, they knew about keyblades, which meant the person might have a communicator, as well. Why wouldn’t Aqua answer it, if it could have been her? “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Aqua tugged him over to the edge of the park, by the trees. Only a short bit ago, she had seemed ready to stay at the park until they fell asleep. Now she seemed almost in haste. Did she actually know what the message had been? Was something happening?

The moment they reached the safety of the trees, they both called out their gliders. Aqua stayed slightly ahead of him, the opposite of how they’d traveled at the start of the day. His brows furrowed. In other words, she was staying in between him… and the Land of Departure? Why?

Ven was there. His heart lodged in his throat. Ven was there _alone_. What was going on?

He nearly launched himself off his glider when they reached the clearing. Night had arrived, bringing with it the stars. Their tiny light led him to the glass pane doors of the castle. He ran. Aqua, he noted, did not follow. He reached out for the door, only to pause and turn to her. “Aqua?”

She waved him forward. “I’ll be in in a few minutes.”

That made no sense. Unless it wasn’t Ven who was in danger? For a moment, he considered staying with her, asking what was going on. But he still could hardly breathe. He remembered seeing Ven, sleeping in the silver throne, still as death. His fingers trembled.

He wrenched open the door.

Music. It was the first thing he noticed – the soft sound of woodwinds and piano. He looked around. The room he’d entered was the training room. It was wide, with no furniture or carpeting. So why did he see texture on the floor? He bent down. The texture was a bunch of tiny objects. He picked one up, surprised at how soft it was. Flower petals?

He turned on the lights, only to find soft black lighting burning from the fixtures. He looked at them to see a film had been placed around each and every one. His brows furrowed. “Ven?”

No answer. As he stepped forward, however, a dark purple light shone from the opposite side of the room, past the hallway. It led toward the living room. He walked forward. Beneath his feet, the petals softly crunched.

Things hung from the ceiling of the hallway. He looked up to find them twinkling in the soft glow of the light. They looked like beads. Maybe glass? Or crystal? Strung on a long line. He reached up, but he couldn’t reach them. Ven would have been able to put them there. He would have simply needed to use his wind.

He stopped inside the living room. The purple glow came from more filters, decorating the walls of the long space. The several couches and chairs were all decked out with more flowers, each of them, he found, real and bedecked with tiny rhinestones that caught the purple light and showed off the flowers. Terra was anything but an expert, but he could see roses and their favorite flowers in the bundle. Terra’s, the daffodil, had been scattered on the floor among the petals, along with Ven’s favorite, the red carnation. Terra carefully avoided stepping on any of them as he made his way past the tables and chairs. As he went, the dining room light flickered on, this time in a bright blue.

He smiled. Ven had remembered. _That_ was what all of this had been about.

It seemed he hadn’t been the only one to want to commemorate this day.

He stepped through the wide arch separating the living space from the dining, only to pause. The room had always been large, enough so that most of the table was never used, even when they’d lived with Master Eraqus. It stretched from one end of the space to the other; it was best to cluster on one side and leave the other empty. The only time it had been full was when they’d all, every keyblade wielder and their loved ones, had celebrated the defeat of Xehanort.

He’d expected the food on the table, if not the wide array. Platters of sushi and fish decorated a small circle around the middle, with rows of food along the sides. In the center were cut fruits in the shapes of wayfinders. On each plate sat a single flower – on one side, Ven’s favorite flower. On the other, his. A small lantern sat just off to the side, filtered to cast a similar blue light to those around the room. The music he’d heard from the practice room played from speakers hooked up on the china cabinet.

The beads of glittering stones snaked around the ceiling again, this time highlighted by the room’s chandeliers. Several fell artfully to the floor, lit by the lantern’s glow and by the lighting of the room. They turned the room into one large, glowing space, as if they were outside amongst the stars.

He moved to the table, only for the lights that had led him here to turn off. The lantern’s flickering light turned the beads into flickering stars not unlike comets or shooting stars. He looked up.

Ven stood at the far end of the room. Terra noted his outfit, a more formal white-collared piece matched with the same sort of lined pants Terra wore. His mouth dropped. Aqua had planned that. He wore black, Ven white. He stepped forward. “Ven.”

Ven shuffled his feet, looked down for a second. Took a deep breath. Smiled. When Ven looked up, it was with the same soft, warm expression Terra knew he wore. “Happy two year anniversary,” Ven said.

Terra’s heart burst. He strode forward to clasp Ven’s hands. “Happy anniversary,” he murmured, and leaned close. Ven stood on his tip-toes. The kiss was slow, soft. When they parted, they smiled again. “I wanted to do something for you, but Aqua was very good at the job you appointed her.”

Ven blushed. His smile turned into a bright grin. “I knew she could do it.” Ven led him back toward the food. “Are you still curious about the woman she likes?”

“Even moreso now than before.” Terra pulled out the chair for Ven, oddly enough the one by the daffodil, then, once Ven had sat down, his own. “But she didn’t name the girl when we talked later, so I don’t want to ask.”

Ven snorted softly. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself.”

Terra grinned. “I think I did well, actually. I didn’t ask until sundown.” He picked out a few sushi, happy to see his favorites piled high. Ven grabbed one of the fish and a few dango, popping one in his mouth before it even made it to his plate. Terra laughed and grabbed a few for himself before it was too late.

The night was perfect. The lantern turned the entire room into starlight and silence. Wherever Aqua had gone, she’d left them alone, granting them privacy for their meal. Ven started off the night with a short admittance of why he’d been delayed by Aqua so long – he’d had to call her multiple times in a panic, as the florists who had promised to have the flowers he’d asked for had delivered only a third of what he’d needed, then as the light filters had failed to fit the sconces. Ven had gone to a lot of trouble of Terra’s behalf. Far more than Terra had planned.

They finished their meals, only for Ven to fall still and quiet. Terra watched Ven fidget for a second, then spoke. “This has been amazing, Ven.” Ven didn’t say anything. He leaned an elbow on the table and eyed the remaining fruit. Idly, he moved the pieces until they formed a lopsided wayfinder once more. Ven watched him. “I actually spoke about that day with Aqua earlier.” Ven tilted his head. “I’d been so afraid of losing everything I’d just gotten back. I’d feared trying. But now, sitting here with you… I’ve never wanted anything more than this moment to exist. I love you, Ven.”

Ven’s chair squealed loudly as he stood, breaking the atmosphere around them. He marched over to Terra’s side. Terra stared up at Ven, wide-eyed. He caught sight of Ven’s hands, fisted and trembling at his sides. “Ven?”

Ven grabbed up the red carnation, his movement jerky yet infinitely careful. He fished around in his pocket, then turned his back on Terra while he played with the carnation. “Ven?” He reached out, only for Ventus to whirl around again. His lips were pursed, his brows low. As if preparing for battle.

“I feel the same way now,” Ven whispered, as if giving some great confession. Then he bent to one knee.

Terra turned slightly in his seat. “Ven?”

“I thought about just not doing this,” Ven said. His gaze was on the floor. “I thought maybe I should just leave it like this. To be honest, the reason why I called Aqua that last time and told her to make you wait some more was because I thought about backing out.”

Terra didn’t understand. “You mean you almost gave up on this dinner?” he asked, hoping this wasn’t anything more serious than that. Hoping Ven wasn’t talking about breaking up with him.

Ven bit his lip. Another deep breath, and then he looked up. The red carnation sat in one hand. The other reached out to touch Terra’s leg. Terra reached down and took it in his, trying to give Ven some of his strength. Trying to maintain his own composure.

“I…” Ven’s lips trembled. Ven pressed them tight together, then tried again. “I loved you before I understood what it was. I thought of you as some kind stranger, then as a friend, then, I thought, as a brother.” Terra winced. He’d known that. It had been what had made him hesitate for so long. “But I hadn’t understood my feelings, even back then. Vanitas had been the one to show me, in fact. In the worst way.” Ven chuckled dryly. Terra squeezed his fingers. “Vanitas had apparently told Xehanort that I cared for you the most. Like a brother. Even more than Aqua, he’d said. And he’d been right. He’d known, because he could feel what I felt, and… but that hadn’t made sense to me. How could I love you more when I thought of Aqua as a sister, too?”

Ven shook his head. “That’s… that’s not… I’m rambling, hold on. Let me start again.” Ven breathed in through his nose. “I’m _so grateful_ for this day. The day I realized I wasn’t going to lose my brother by loving him too much. Which is why…” Ven looked down again, then up. He squeezed Terra’s hand again. “I believe we’re part of each other. More than light or dark, more than opposites. We fit. You don’t just fill in parts of me that are missing. You – you enhance me.”

Terra leaned forward. “Ven?”

“I love you,” he said, The words were filled with conviction. They seemed to settle something in Ven. “I love you,” he said again. “I always have. I always will.” He held out the carnation. Within it sat a simple silver band. Terra’s breath caught. “Whether you say yes today or not, my feelings for you will never change. Still. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to…” Ven blew out a breath. “Will you marry me, Terra?”

Terra’s jaw worked. Specifically, it flapped open and closed while his throat closed up.

In reality, Terra had never questioned whether they would stay together. The instant they both understood one another’s feelings, there had been a simple understanding between them that they would just remain together. No amount of giggling over how he and Aqua looked together would ever change who they _felt_ best with. So, honestly, marriage had never even crossed his mind, let alone come up in conversation.

Now, though.

Now.

He rubbed one hand over his face. “I really want to see you wearing my ring, too,” he said. Ven blinked up at him. A few beats passed before Terra realized what he’d done. He flushed. “I mean, yes! Of course, yes. Of _course_.”

Ven laughed. He launched up from his kneeling position, catapulting himself into Terra’s arms. Ven squealed in his ear. “Really? Really?! _Yes!”_

Terra couldn’t help but laugh, too. He wrapped his arms around Ven and lifted him, finally standing from the chair. Ven dangled in his arms. “I really, _really_ want to see you wearing a ring, too.”

The words reminded Ven, and with a mumbled curse, Ven scrambled out of Terra’s arms and reached for the flower. The ring wasn’t there. It had fallen. They had to spend a good ten minutes searching frantically along the floor for the ring, finally, giving up on the romantic lantern lighting and flicking on the lights. The thing had rolled beneath Ven’s chair. Ven grabbed it with a shout and turned to Terra, his face beet red. Terra just laughed again and held out his hand. “Come on, fiancé mine. Make me official.”

Ven’s eyes glowed the instant Terra said the word. Terra felt a fluttering in his stomach. Fiancé.

Slowly, Ven rounded the table one more time. He reached out for Terra’s hand. Terra could feel the slight tremble in Ven’s hold as he gently pushed the ring onto Terra’s finger. “I wanna wear your ring, too,” Ven said. His voice was quiet again, matching the stillness of Terra’s breath. In the blue light, the silver shone a bright aqua, nearly matching Ven’s eyes. Ven looked up at him. “I want to be with you forever.”

Terra hugged Ven. “I’ll get one,” he whispered into Ven’s ear. “Even if it means having to go shopping with Aqua again.”

It surprised a bark of laughter from the blond. “This time,” Ven promised, “I’ll bail you out.”

Terra snuggled into the soft down of Ven’s hair. When he held Ven tight, he felt the ridge of the ring press into his skin. He didn’t have to worry anymore. Neither he nor Ven were going anywhere. This day had been made for that promise.


End file.
